Squarespace is a user-friendly website builder known for its sleek, modern templates and intuitive drag-and-drop interface. It’s a great option for small businesses, creatives, and individuals looking to create a professional-looking site without needing coding skills.
Price: $16/Month
So, you’ve been thinking about building a website? But the idea of dealing with complicated code or hiring a designer just doesn’t sit right with you?
Enter Squarespace, a platform that promises to make website creation easy, sleek, and downright enjoyable. In this Squarespace review, I’ll cover everything you need to know, including pricing, features, user experience, and competitors, to help you make the best decision.
Let’s get started!
Squarespace is an all-in-one website builder that allows users to create, design, and host their websites without the need for extensive technical skills.
Launched in 2004, it has become one of the most popular website creation platforms due to its user-friendly interface, stunning templates, and comprehensive feature set. Whether you’re building a personal blog, a portfolio, a small business site, or an online store, Squarespace offers a range of tools to make the process simple and efficient.
One of its standout features is its drag-and-drop editor, which lets you customize your website in real-time, making it incredibly easy for beginners.
The platform also provides a wide selection of professionally designed templates that are fully responsive, ensuring that your website looks great on both desktop and mobile devices. In addition to design features, Squarespace includes built-in tools for blogging, ecommerce, scheduling, and SEO, all without needing third-party apps or plugins.
Squarespace is also known for its clean, minimalistic aesthetic, which appeals to creatives, small business owners, and professionals who want a visually appealing site with minimal effort.
It integrates essential services like domain registration, hosting, and SSL certificates, making it a convenient one-stop shop for website creation.
Overall, Squarespace is ideal for anyone who values design and ease of use while still requiring powerful features to build and maintain their online presence.
When choosing a website builder, pricing is an important consideration. Squarespace offers several pricing plans tailored to different needs, from personal blogs to full-fledged online stores. Below is a clear breakdown of Squarespace’s pricing options:
| Plan | Price | Best For | Key Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Plan | $16/month | Personal websites and blogs | Unlimited bandwidth and storage, 24/7 support, Free custom domain for 1 year, SSL security, Templates |
| Business Plan | $23/month | Small business websites | E-commerce features, Premium integrations, Google ads credit, and everything from the Personal plan. |
| Basic Commerce | $27/month | E-commerce websites | Full e-commerce capabilities (without transaction fees), Inventory management, 24/7 support |
| Advanced Commerce | $49/month | Advanced e-commerce websites | Advanced e-commerce tools, Abandoned cart recovery, Custom checkout, and everything from Basic plan. |
When I was first considering Squarespace, one of my main goals was to understand their pricing structure to see if it was a good value. I found their pricing to be very clear and straightforward, which was a breath of fresh air. They offer a few different tiers, and the right one for you will depend on your specific needs.
It is also important to know that while they do not have a “free forever” plan, every single plan starts with a 14 day free trial. This is a fantastic, no-risk way to build your site and test out all the features before you ever have to make a payment.
The other key way to save money is by choosing to pay annually instead of monthly. If you pay for a full year upfront, you can save a significant amount of money, often up to thirty percent, which is a huge discount.
Let’s break down the main plans they offer.
This is the perfect starting point for most new websites. It is designed for freelancers, artists, photographers, and anyone who needs a beautiful portfolio or a professional personal website. It gives you access to their award winning templates, the easy to use website editor, and everything you need to get a stunning site online. The main limitation of this plan is that it does not include ecommerce features.
This is their most popular plan, and it is the ideal choice for most small businesses. It includes every single feature from the Personal plan, but it unlocks a suite of powerful business tools. Most importantly, it allows you to have a fully integrated ecommerce store to sell products and services. It also gives you access to more advanced analytics, a professional email address from Google, and the ability to add promotional popups and banners to your site. For any business that plans to sell anything online, this is the plan you will need to start with.
These plans are for businesses that are serious about growing their online store. The Basic and Advanced Commerce plans include all the features of the Business plan but add more powerful, commerce specific tools. These include features like the ability to sell on social media platforms, advanced shipping and tax options, and tools to recover abandoned carts. The Advanced Commerce plan adds even more pro level features, like the ability to sell subscriptions and offer advanced discounts. If ecommerce is the primary focus of your business, you will want to choose one of these plans.
After building websites on the platform and guiding others through the process, I have a very clear idea of who absolutely thrives with Squarespace and who might be better served by a different tool.
In my opinion, Squarespace is the perfect choice for you if:
However, Squarespace is probably NOT the right choice for you if:
My personal experience using Squarespace has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s a platform I’d wholeheartedly recommend to anyone looking to create a professional-looking website with minimal hassle. When I first signed up, I was impressed by how intuitive the interface was.
I had zero experience in web development, but within minutes of starting, I felt comfortable navigating the drag-and-drop editor. The first thing that stood out was the sheer quality of the templates. They’re all beautifully designed, with modern, clean layouts that are perfect for showcasing images, text, or videos.
I chose a portfolio template to display my creative work, and the customization options were plentiful. I could easily adjust fonts, colors, and spacing without feeling overwhelmed by technical jargon.
The real-time preview allowed me to see changes as I made them, ensuring everything looked just right. What I appreciated most was the ability to refine details without needing to code something that made the process much quicker than I expected.
In terms of features, Squarespace’s integration of tools like blogging, image galleries, and even scheduling (for client appointments) meant that I didn’t need to seek out additional plugins or third-party apps. For example, the built-in blogging tool made it easy to publish content.
At the same time, the Acuity Scheduling feature allowed clients to book appointments directly from my site—streamlining my workflow significantly.
Another feature that I loved was the e-commerce functionality. Although I didn’t need it for my portfolio, I was able to set up a mock online store to experiment with the process. Squarespace handled all the essentials: inventory, payments, and even tax settings, seamlessly.
The cherry on top was the customer support. Whenever I ran into questions or needed guidance, I reached out to Squarespace’s live chat. I was always met with friendly, helpful agents who provided clear answers to my issues. The response time was quick, and I felt like I was genuinely supported throughout the process.
Overall, my experience with Squarespace was smooth, and I ended up with a polished, professional-looking website that met all my needs.
It was perfect for someone like me who wanted to focus on the content and design without worrying about the technical aspects. This is why I’d recommend Squarespace to anyone looking to create a beautiful website without diving into coding or dealing with external tools.
Squarespace is known for its collection of beautifully crafted, professionally designed templates. These templates are mobile-responsive, meaning they automatically adjust to fit any screen size, from desktops to smartphones. With over 180 templates to choose from, users can find a style that suits their needs, whether they’re building a portfolio, blog, or ecommerce site.
The templates are highly customizable; everything from color schemes, fonts, and layouts can be easily adjusted through the platform’s drag-and-drop interface. Whether you’re a professional photographer, artist, or running an online store, you’ll find templates designed to showcase your content beautifully. Unlike some website builders that feel generic, Squarespace’s templates are polished and modern, setting a high standard for design quality.
The drag-and-drop editor is the cornerstone of Squarespace’s usability. It’s a simple, intuitive tool that lets users build their websites without any coding knowledge. The interface is clean and streamlined, with an easy-to-navigate sidebar for adding various elements like text blocks, images, buttons, forms, and more.
You can drag any of these elements into your page, resize them, and rearrange them in real-time to create the perfect layout. Whether you’re creating a simple blog or a complex multi-page site, this editor lets you take control of every aspect of your design. Changes are instantly visible, so there’s no need to refresh the page. The ease of use makes it a great option for beginners and those who don’t want to get bogged down by the technical aspects of web design.
Squarespace excels in providing a seamless ecommerce platform. It allows users to sell products, both physical and digital, without the need for additional plugins or external services. The ecommerce tools are integrated directly into the platform so that you can manage inventory, process payments, and track sales from within your Squarespace dashboard.
It supports a variety of payment options, including Stripe, PayPal, and Apple Pay, and offers features like tax calculations, shipping integration, and customizable checkout forms. For digital product sellers, Squarespace offers secure file delivery, making it easy to sell e-books, music, videos, or software.
Additionally, Squarespace’s ecommerce tools include features like automatic tax calculation, abandoned cart recovery, and product variations (e.g., sizes, colors). It’s a complete solution for anyone looking to create an online store with a professional look and feel, without needing to integrate third-party ecommerce platforms.
Squarespace is an excellent choice for bloggers thanks to its built-in blogging tools. Creating and managing blog posts is simple, and the platform allows for easy content creation and formatting. You can choose between different post layouts, include rich media like images, videos, and audio, and even schedule posts to go live at a specific time.
Squarespace’s blogging feature also includes advanced features like SEO-friendly URL structures, automatic RSS feed generation, and social media sharing buttons. The platform supports tagging and categorization, making it easier for visitors to find related posts. Plus, Squarespace’s clean and modern templates are particularly well-suited to displaying blog content, so your articles will always look polished and professional.
For those looking to monetize their blogs, Squarespace also offers built-in options for email marketing campaigns, membership subscriptions, and donation options. This makes it an all-in-one platform for blogging and monetization.
While having a great-looking website is essential, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is what helps your site get discovered by search engines like Google. Squarespace has built-in SEO tools that help optimize your site and make it easier for search engines to index your content.
The platform automatically generates clean, search engine-friendly code, and allows you to customize meta titles, descriptions, and URL slugs for every page and blog post. It also creates an XML sitemap and includes SSL certificates by default, which are essential for secure and SEO-friendly websites.
Squarespace also offers real-time analytics, helping you track your site’s performance and identify areas for improvement. With these tools, Squarespace users can improve their chances of ranking higher in search results, driving more traffic to their site.
For service-based businesses, Squarespace offers Acuity Scheduling, which is built directly into the platform. Acuity allows customers to book appointments with you online, automatically adjusting to different time zones. You can customize your availability, set buffer times between appointments, and even offer payment integration for paid consultations or services.
This feature is perfect for businesses like salons, consultants, personal trainers, or any other service provider that needs an efficient way to manage client bookings. It’s fully integrated into your Squarespace site, so your customers will have a seamless experience, and you won’t have to deal with third-party scheduling tools or apps.
Squarespace ensures that all websites are fully mobile-optimized, meaning they automatically adapt to fit mobile screens. In today’s mobile-first world, this is crucial, as more and more people browse the internet on their smartphones and tablets. Squarespace’s templates are responsive, so whether a visitor is using a phone, tablet, or desktop, your site will look great.
The mobile optimization isn’t just about resizing your desktop layout—it’s about providing an excellent user experience on smaller devices. Squarespace takes care of this automatically, ensuring your site remains easy to navigate, with buttons and links that are easy to tap, even on smaller screens.
Squarespace includes a suite of analytics and reporting tools that help you track and understand how your site is performing. You can monitor website traffic, view page views, track user engagement, and identify top-performing content. It also includes eCommerce analytics, helping you track your sales, revenue, and customer behavior.
For those serious about growing their site, the analytics dashboard offers insights into where your traffic is coming from (organic search, social media, or direct visits), so you can adjust your marketing strategies accordingly. You can also track conversion rates, helping you improve sales or lead-generation tactics.
For users who want more control over their website’s functionality, code injection is available on Squarespace’s higher-tier plans. With this feature, you can add custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to your site, allowing for even greater customization beyond the built-in design tools.
Whether you want to add a custom analytics tracker, integrate third-party tools, or implement advanced design tweaks, code injection gives you the flexibility to do so. While you don’t need coding knowledge to use Squarespace’s basic features, this option is available for users who have technical expertise and want to make their site truly unique.
Pros
Cons
In general, Squarespace provides a reliable and secure hosting environment. The platform is known for its uptime and security features, ensuring that your website remains accessible and protected.
However, some users have reported slower load times, particularly for image-heavy pages or sites with extensive customizations. Factors such as large image sizes, numerous third-party integrations, or excessive use of custom code can contribute to these performance issues. For instance, one user noted that custom CSS was causing their site to load slowly, even though images were optimized.
To mitigate these issues, it’s advisable to optimize images before uploading them, limit the use of custom code, and monitor the number of third-party integrations. Additionally, keeping your website’s content under 5 MB can help improve load times.
Squarespace offers an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, making it accessible even for users without technical expertise. The Fluid Engine editor, introduced in version 7.1, allows for precise placement of elements and a more flexible layout design.
While the platform is generally user-friendly, some users have reported a steeper learning curve compared to other website builders. The editor’s interface is minimalistic, which some find appealing, but others feel it could be more intuitive.
For example, one user mentioned that the editor prompted them to save changes frequently, which they found to be a bit cumbersome.
Additionally, the customization options, while extensive, can sometimes be limiting. For instance, users on the 7.1 Classic editor cannot set different block settings for desktop and mobile views independently, which can be a drawback for those seeking more granular control over their site’s appearance on various devices.
| Aspect | Rating (out of 5) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 3.5 | Generally reliable; performance can vary based on site complexity and optimizations. |
| Usability | 4.0 | Intuitive editor with some learning curve; customization options may be limited. |
Squarespace offers a robust customer support system that focuses on providing effective and timely assistance to its users, although it does not offer phone support. Instead, the platform relies on several other support channels to ensure that users can get the help they need, whenever they need it.
One of the main support features is live chat, which is available during specific hours. Users can access live chat support during the workweek, typically from 4:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET, making it convenient for most time zones.
This chat option connects users directly with Squarespace’s support team, allowing for quick troubleshooting and answers to technical questions.
The live chat system is generally well-regarded for its responsiveness, and support agents are known for being knowledgeable and helpful. However, wait times may vary depending on the complexity of the issue and how busy the support center is at the time.
In addition to live chat, Squarespace offers email support for users who prefer not to engage in live conversations or need to follow up on previous interactions. Email support is typically responsive, with users receiving answers within a few hours or the next business day. This is useful for more detailed issues that may require time to resolve, such as billing inquiries or account-specific questions.
For those who prefer to solve issues independently, Squarespace also provides a rich library of help articles and video tutorials on its official support site. These resources cover a wide range of topics, from setting up your website to using specific features like SEO tools, ecommerce setup, and more. The help center is easily searchable, allowing users to find solutions to common problems quickly.
Moreover, Squarespace users can access community forums where they can ask questions, share experiences, and receive guidance from both the Squarespace team and fellow users. This peer-to-peer support is especially useful for troubleshooting niche issues or learning advanced techniques that aren’t always covered in the help center articles.
In summary, Squarespace offers a well-rounded customer support system that includes live chat, email support, a comprehensive help center, video tutorials, and community forums.
While the absence of phone support may be a downside for some users, the overall quality and availability of support channels ensure that most users can find timely solutions to their issues. The platform’s support team is generally responsive and knowledgeable, making the user experience smoother and more efficient.
Here’s how Squarespace stacks up in a few key areas:
| Feature | Rating (Out of 5) |
|---|---|
| Good Value for Money | 4.2 |
| Features | 4.6 |
| Ease of Use | 4.7 |
| Customer Support | 4.8 |
| Pricing | 4.0 |
When you are choosing a platform to build your online presence, it is easy to get overwhelmed by all the options. While I am a huge fan of Squarespace for its incredible design and ease of use, I know it is not the only great tool out there. To help you make the best possible decision for your specific needs, I want to give you my personal, straightforward comparison between Squarespace and its main competitors.
We will look at how it stacks up against the ultimate easy builder (Wix), the ecommerce giant (Shopify), and the powerhouse of the internet (WordPress).
On the surface, Squarespace and Wix seem very similar. They are both all in one, hosted website builders that are perfect for beginners who do not want to deal with the technical side of things. They both offer beautiful templates and intuitive editors. However, they have very different core philosophies when it comes to design, and this is the most important difference to understand.
Design Freedom and Ease of Use
The biggest difference is in their website editors.
My Personal Take: If you are a creative person who trusts your own design instincts and you want the absolute maximum amount of freedom to experiment, you might prefer the blank canvas of Wix. However, if you would rather trust the expertise of world class designers and work within their stunning, proven templates to guarantee a beautiful result, then Squarespace is the better and safer choice. For me, the curated design approach of Squarespace consistently produces a more polished and professional final product.
This comparison is all about your primary business goal. Are you a content creator who also sells some products, or are you a full blown ecommerce store owner?
Focus on Commerce vs. Content
My Personal Take: If your business is an online store with a large number of products, complex shipping needs, and high sales volume, then Shopify is the more powerful and scalable ecommerce engine. However, if your business is a hybrid, where your brand, your blog, and your story are just as important as the products you sell, then Squarespace offers a much more elegant, integrated, and beautifully designed solution. It is perfect for creators, coaches, and brands that use content to drive sales.
This is the most important comparison because it represents a fundamental choice about how you want to build your online presence. It is a choice between an easy, all in one service and a powerful, infinitely flexible toolkit.
Ease of Use and Maintenance
Flexibility and Ownership
This is where WordPress has the massive, undeniable advantage.
My Final Personal Take: This choice comes down to your long term goals. Squarespace is the perfect choice for someone who values simplicity, beautiful design, and an all in one solution above all else, and is willing to trade some flexibility for that convenience.
WordPress is the superior choice for the serious, long term builder who values unlimited flexibility, complete ownership, and the potential to build a massive and complex digital asset. It is the platform that can grow with you, no matter how big your dreams are.
No, but they offer a 14-day free trial to test out the platform.
Yes! You can sell both physical and digital products, starting with their Business plan.
Absolutely! You can either buy a new domain through Squarespace or connect an existing one.
Yes! The drag-and-drop editor makes it beginner-friendly.
Excellent! It has powerful blogging tools, including categories, tags, and multimedia support.
Quick Links:
Squarespace is a standout choice for those seeking a visually stunning and user-friendly website-building platform. Its beautifully designed templates and intuitive drag-and-drop editor make it accessible even for beginners, while still offering advanced customization options for those with more technical expertise.
The platform excels in its all-in-one approach, integrating features like blogging, ecommerce, scheduling, and SEO tools that allow users to manage their site without relying on third-party apps or plugins. The inclusion of tools like Acuity Scheduling and robust ecommerce functionality makes it especially appealing to small businesses and service providers.
Performance can also be an issue for some, particularly for sites that are image-heavy or use a lot of custom code. These factors can lead to slower load times, so optimizing images and limiting third-party integrations is essential for maintaining speed.
In conclusion, Squarespace remains an excellent choice for those who value design and simplicity. Its all-in-one platform provides everything you need to build a professional site, and its user-friendly interface ensures that even beginners can create a polished online presence.
While it may not be the most affordable option or the most flexible in terms of customization, Squarespace’s strengths in design, usability, and its suite of powerful features make it a top contender for anyone looking to create a beautiful, functional website.
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